Everyday a Sunday : Protex (Power Pop / Punk)

Protex. Like so many other punk bands that formed in the late 70s (1978), Protex formed almost immediately in the wake of a Clash concert. From Belfast when dance halls and clubs were being fire bombed by the IRA, these lads were playing rock shows and pressing singles. My favorite is "Don't Ring Me Up" with an absolutely fucking perfect B-Side called "(Just Want) Your Attention" that I used to listen to back in the mid-oughts when girls would be mean to me (a trend that continues to this day). During the late 70s and early 80s, Protex singles became difficult to find, and no formal album was ever released.

Strange Obsessions features many songs from their original singles packed with
12 anthemic tracks that do not stray far from musical blueprint The Clash set for this band, including a re-recorded version of "Don't Ring Me Up". The album features snotty sounding vocals and loud punk guitar melodies driving simple stupid songs about girl problems and other dumb shit.

Cloaked in the garb of a punk band lied the soul of gentle crooning poet. All of these tracks are prototypical examples of my musical platonic ideal. Shit recordings, songwriting belonging to a fairly predictable set of themes including desire, sadness, girls and self-deprecation. Yet somehow it comes across as genuine and unique. Yes songs like "Strange Things" and "Private Lives" are substantively simple and desperately clichéd but the sum of all of their somewhat idiosyncratic parts comes together to form a new sound, somewhere between powerpop and UK '77 punk, that was just emerging in the late 70s era. It is without a doubt my favorite sound not only because I'm a pop fiend but also due to the fact that it isn't quite "punk". There are tons of other great bands from this time you should check out but start here now!